You’ve probably seen the meme where Spider-Man points at himself. If I could pick one picture to encapsulate where the Clippers currently stand, that’s my choice. Following a brutal game seven loss to the Denver Nuggets, the Los Angeles Clippers are in a position where they can only blame themselves.

But, first and foremost, I want to acknowledge Michael Malone and the rest of the Denver Nuggets players and coaching staff. Coming back from a 3-1 deficit twice in the same postseason is a feat accomplished by no one in NBA history. All credit goes to Denver, but we have to remember that Denver can’t achieve this if L.A. had closed them out earlier in the series.

Game 5

After the Clippers defeated the Nuggets 96-85 in game four, both teams began the first quarter of game five pretty tight. In the second quarter, the Clippers started to pull away. Lou Williams made baskets inside the arc and Landry Shamet and JaMychal Green hit some key triples off the bench to provide the starters with critical help.

An and-1 from Marcus Morris Sr. saw the lead extend to 56-40, which would be the largest lead held by the Clippers. L.A. went into the second half with a twelve-point cushion, but the Nuggets made the necessary adjustments to make a run. Denver didn’t take over right away, but following crucial baskets from Paul Millsap, who arguably turned in his best game of the bubble, Denver set themselves up to make an all-or-nothing run in the fourth.

Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray needed to step up on the scoring end, and needless to say, they rose to the occasion. The one-two game between Jokic and Murray clicked at the right time, and Denver flipped the score to take a six-point lead with five minutes remaining. Kawhi Leonard hit some big threes and earned trips to the free-throw line to slow the game down, but the game fell in the hands of Michael Porter Jr., who drilled the biggest shot of the game. Denver outscored L.A. 38-25 in the final 12 minutes.

The Clippers sat on a 16-point lead but watched it slowly evaporate as Denver outplayed them on both ends of the game to force game six.

Game 6

This game gave the Clippers a second chance of closing the series out, and the Clippers started the first half strong yet again. A dominant 16-2 stretch to end the second quarter was exactly what the doctor ordered, but the Clippers were too stubborn to take the medication. Despite Paul George and Leonard taking over the end of the second and setting themselves up to finish Denver off, they allowed Denver to take advantage of their poor tactics on both ends of the court.

After scoring 34 points in the first quarter, the Clippers managed just 35 points in the entire second half. Sixteen of those came in the third quarter when Denver made their huge run to trail by just two to enter the fourth. George took responsibility for 10 of those points, but he didn’t receive any help and Denver hunted the Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams mismatches to burn the Clippers on defense.

A similar theme from game five appears in this one: if you fail to keep your foot on the pedal, you’ll be passed up. You can’t offer a team like Denver the chance to see light, otherwise, they’ll climb out of the dark hole and bury you instead. Once Denver regained momentum, they grasped it with both hands and rode it to victory.

George and Leonard couldn’t carry the load themselves, whereas Jokic and Murray, though doing their jobs efficiently, were supported by Monte Morris, Gary Harris, and others who stepped up because of the momentum switch. The Clippers ended up being the team who lost by double-digits and did the one thing they couldn’t afford to do: go to game seven.

The uncertainty of a game with colossal implications is one the Clippers couldn’t afford to participate in, yet their own mishaps led them tumbling into a game where momentum didn’t favor them.

Game 7

Just like the last two games, both teams kept the score tight, except Denver didn’t allow L.A. to go on a run to end the first half. The Clippers maintained the edge, but the storyline of blowing a significant lead wouldn’t materialize on post-game headlines.

However, the Clippers’ inability to score in the second half did. L.A. only managed 33 points in the second half of a win-or-go-home game. Whichever way you put it, that’s inexcusable. Fifteen of those came in the fourth quarter, where the Clippers showed zero fight; they were ready to go home. It was a relatively low-scoring quarter, but Murray and Jokic opened the floodgates just enough to drown their desiccated opponents.

Obviously, it didn’t do the Clippers any favors that their two stars shot a combined 10-38 from the floor. That’s 26% in a semifinal closeout game; there’s no justifying that type of performance. The two notably scored zero points in the fourth quarter. It’s also why L.A. couldn’t let game seven occur. You never know if the worst-case scenario for your team would happen in the biggest game of the season, but you don’t have to ponder those thoughts if you closed out responsibly.

And if Harrell is your leading scorer after 48 minutes, something went drastically wrong. Denver didn’t completely suffocate L.A. on defense either, because L.A. had open looks. But, you saw George clanking an open corner three off the side of the backboard, which made up one of his nine missed triples from the game. Again, you need to avoid game seven if you can prevent it.

Other Factors

In-game decisions made by Doc Rivers played a massive role in L.A’s downfall as well. Giving Harrell numerous minutes when Ivica Zubac and Green were much better players/matchups definitely cost L.A. points. Harrell’s inability to be a defender at any decent level saw Jokic and company torch Harrell. This stat certainly supports the eye test:

Montrezl Harrell and Nikola Jokic went head-to-head for 35 minutes over the final three games of this series. The Los Angeles Clippers were outscored by 47 points in those minutes.

— Justin Russo (@FlyByKnite) September 16, 2020

Patrick Beverley fouling out early in game six played a large part, too, as L.A. lost his versatility on both ends and needed to play Williams more often. Beverley quietly turned in arguably the best performance from a Clipper in game seven, but it’s going to be swept under the rug now due to the loss.

Landry Shamet quietly disappeared and couldn’t help offensively either. Shamet’s best asset couldn’t be weaponized efficiently against Denver, as he shot 4-18 (22%) from deep in the series. He played limited minutes in game seven due to injury, but it’s hard to imagine him making a positive impact anyway.

Mike Malone, to put simply, out-coached his counterpart. When Harrell and Williams shared the floor, Denver attacked L.A. with pick-and-rolls, resulting in open looks. Because Lou Williams struggled often and Beverley dealt with foul trouble, Reggie Jackson saw minutes too, which certainly didn’t help the defense any. If Leonard and George couldn’t score, Rivers didn’t have a reliable third option, yet he kept insisting that Harrell and Williams would solve those issues. It might’ve worked in the regular season, but the bench duo was unsurprisingly exposed when it mattered most.

The Clippers are now 0-8 all-time when they’re about to clinch a conference finals berth, fittingly ranking them first in that category, per Elias Sports. Just like their blown 3-1 lead in 2015, the blame falls on the entire Los Angeles Clippers organization. With the expectations coming into the season, the lasting effects of this loss could be incalculable.

213Hoops is an independently owned and operated L.A. Clippers blog by Clippers fans, for Clippers fans. If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our Patreon. Subscriptions start at $1 a month and support from readers like you goes a long way towards helping us keep 213Hoops sustainable, growing, and thriving.

The Los Angeles Clippers Can Only Blame Themselves
Sanjesh Singh

Are you a LA Clippers fan who isn’t sure who to root for in the NBA’s July 31st bubble games? Don’t worry, you’ve come to the right place.

The excitement of having Clippers basketball back on the television–even in empty stadiums during a pandemic–is undeniable. But if you’re anything like me, you won’t stop at watching the Clippers play every other day for the next couple of weeks until the playoffs begin. I know that I plan on camping in front of the TV and watching multiple games every day, keeping tabs on various teams around the league both for my personal enjoyment and to keep tabs on the Clippers’ likely playoff opponents (extra focus on Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers games).

But even when we’re watching other teams, the Clippers are always on our minds. The 8 games each team is playing before the playoffs begin are aptly named “seeding” games. As teams use them to jostle for playoff positioning, there are potential ramifications on the Clippers’ own seeding as well as which teams end up on their side of the bracket. So, whether you’re having an NBA marathon today or just skimming box scores, here the NBA’s slate of July 31st bubble games, with notes on who Clippers fans should be rooting for in each.

The NBA’s July 31st Bubble Games

All times Pacific time.

Orlando Magic vs Brooklyn Nets: 11:30am, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Orlando Magic

Well, we’re starting out with a real stinker. There isn’t much intrigue to either of these teams, who are both under .500 and currently occupy the 7th and 8th spots in the East. However, while it doesn’t matter much to the Clippers, I’ll be quietly pulling for Orlando here.

Why? In each conference, the 9th-place team has the opportunity to trigger a “play-in” game if they finish the seeding games within 4 games of the 8th-place team. Under the play-in rules, the 9th-place team would have to beat the 8th-place team on consecutive nights to earn a playoff berth, while the 8th-place team only needs to win once to secure their spot.

The Western Conference is virtually guaranteed to have a play-in game, and with days on the league calendar reserved for these matches, I would rather have the East playing in a double-header than just watch the West games.

Washington, the 9th-place team in the East, is 5.5 games behind Orlando and 6 games behind Brooklyn, meaning they need to gain ground in order to trigger a play-in game. Unfortunately, the Wizards left Bradley Beal and Davis Bertans at home. Fortunately, the Nets left Kyrie Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, Kevin Durant, Taurean Prince, Wilson Chandler, and DeAndre Jordan at home. Orlando is going to climb into 7th place–it’ll be up to a combination of the Wizards stealing some wins and Brooklyn truly plummeting to make a play-in game happen.

Memphis Grizzlies vs Portland Trail Blazers: 1:00pm, NBATV

Rooting for: Portland Trail Blazers

This game has a little more meaning: the Trail Blazers currently sit in 9th, 3.5 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies. The Blazers have a chance to not only knock Memphis down a peg, but also get a win to distance themselves from the teams clustered closely behind them–remember, only 9th place gets the play-in game, so it does Portland no good to finish within 4 games of Memphis, but in 10th behind New Orleans.

The reason I’m rooting for Portland here is simple: I think that the Blazers pose the greatest challenge to the Los Angeles Lakers in a 1-8 first-round series. Will they beat them? Of course not. But with Zach Collins and Jusuf Nurkic returning to health, the Blazers are better than their record, and Damian Lillard is the best player on any of the teams competing for 8th in the West. Portland is still a deeply flawed team (seriously, their options at small forward are 36-year old Carmelo Anthony, draft bust Mario Hezonja, and second-year 6’5″ guard Gary Trent Jr.), but Dame scoring 50 is the best chance I see for any team to take a game off the Lakers in the first round.

Could one of the other teams jostling down here play well enough to change my mind? Sure! Maybe it’s even Memphis in a resounding victory in this game. But for now, Portland is the team I want to see against the Lakers.

Phoenix Suns vs Washington Wizards, 1:00pm, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Washington Wizards

The Suns are unlikely to pass the four teams needed to get into 9th and earn the play-in game against Memphis–and frankly, I would rather see Portland or New Orleans fighting the Lakers in the first round.

We’ll go the Wizards here, since they need to sneak a couple of wins somewhere to force an East play-in game, and they open the bubble with their two easiest games: Phoenix, and then a big head-to-head against Brooklyn. Two wins would put them within range, just needing to hold steady to trigger the play-in game.

Boston Celtics vs Milwaukee Bucks, 3:30pm, ESPN

Rooting for: Milwaukee Bucks

I’m not too worried about this game–the Clippers won’t see either until a potential NBA Finals–and given the quality of both teams, I’m inclined to just enjoy good basketball. This is the marquee matchup of the NBA’s July 31st bubble games. It’ll be particularly nice to see some more of the Bucks, who are the favorite to make the Finals in the East.

If we have to find an angle, I’d rather see the Bucks win. If the Celtics fall to 4th in the East, the Bucks would have to play them in the 2nd round and then the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference finals. Any Clippers final run goes through the grueling West, so making things tougher on Milwaukee could be advantageous (although, seeing Miami and Bam Adebayo take on the Bucks in the second round would be incredibly fun). Unfortunately, such a slide is unlikely for Boston–they have a fairly easy bubble schedule, with just 3 of their 8 opponents currently over .500.

Sacramento Kings vs San Antonio Spurs, 5pm, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Sacramento Kings

I don’t think either of these teams will end up 9th and facing the Grizzlies–in fact, I think Portland and New Orleans are both stronger and will likely finish 9th and 10th. But if someone from this matchup is going to impress me enough that I end up rooting for them to steal the 8-seed and challenge the Lakers, it’s the Kings with De’Aaron Fox and co.

Plus, it would make our friends at our sister site, The King’s Herald, very happy.

Houston Rockets vs Dallas Mavericks, 6pm, ESPN

Rooting for: Houston Rockets

Of all of the NBA’s July 31st bubble games, this one is the most important for the Clippers–but it’s also the trickiest, and I’d be lying if I said I’m sure that a Houston win will bring the best outcome for Clippers fans.

Here’s the situation: Houston is currently 6th in the West, but they’re tied at 40-24 with Oklahoma City, and just back of Utah, who won their debut Thursday night and are 42-23. Of the middle-of-the-pack teams in the West, Houston is the scariest, with their two recent NBA MVPs in Russell Westbrook and James Harden leading a high-variance style built around three-point shooting and constant, extreme smallball.

The Clippers want Houston to finish 4th or 5th, both because that would mean avoiding a potential match-up with them, and setting up a possible Lakers-Rockets second-round series. In my opinion, that’s the best chance of the Lakers getting upset before the Western Conference Finals.

The tricky thing is, we don’t want Houston to do too well, lest they pass the Denver Nuggets for 3rd and find themselves in the Clippers’ bracket again. We’ll have to play this by ear as the bubble goes on, but for now, the Clippers want Houston to rise out of 6th place.

On the Mavericks’ side of things, Dallas is in 7th, 3 losses back of Houston (though with 3 extra games played) and 6 losses ahead of 8th-place Memphis. They’re almost certainly not moving, and if they are it’s up–so losses for them work doubly to keep the Clippers’ preferred first-round opponent in 7th, and hopefully put them in bad form heading into that series.

July 30th Results

Utah Jazz 106, New Orleans Pelicans 104

We were rooting for: New Orleans Pelicans

A Jazz loss would have helped Houston’s attempt to stay out of 6th, while a Pelicans win would have had one of the scariest potential 8-seeds start strong.

Plus, I really hate the Jazz.

Los Angeles Lakers 103, Los Angeles Clippers 101

Obviously not the result we were looking for here. To read about the game, check out Thomas Wood’s game recap, or my five takeaways from the game.

213Hoops is an independently owned and operated L.A. Clippers blog by Clippers fans, for Clippers fans. If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our Patreon. Subscriptions start at $1 a month and support from readers like you goes a long way towards helping us keep 213Hoops sustainable, growing, and thriving.

Rooting Interests: The NBA’s July 31st Bubble Games
Lucas Hann